Michael Phelps' diet helps Jets linebacker put on pounds

Pancakes. Sandwiches. Omelets. And that's just breakfast. Michael Phelps' notorious calorie-dense training diet is so well known, even a NFL football player is using it to bulk up for the season.

Aaron Maybin, a linebacker for the New York Jets, says the Olympian's eating habits have been his inspiration to gain 20 pounds.

“He eats like one of us,” Maybin told the New York Post, gesturing to his hulking teammates.

Maybin, who lives in Maryland, says during the off-season he's spent time with Phelps and watched in awe as he's chowed down.

Following in Phelps foodsteps, Maybin tells the paper he's now putting away 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day and expects to weight in at 250 pounds in time for kickoff this season.

That's not even close to the legendary 12,000-calorie-a-day regimen Phelps was reportedly on during the height of his Olympic training in 2008.

Maybin said he and Phelps shared a few meals. One can only wonder if Phelps took him to Pete's Grille in Waverly, his old favorite place to wolf down breakfast after an intense morning work-out.

For those who forget, Phelps' typical meal there went a little something like this:

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayo washed down with coffee. A five-egg omelet. A bowl of grits. Then, to end on a sweet note, three slices of French toast topped AND three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Then, the rest of the day, he stayed ravenous:

Lunch: A pound of pasta, two ham and cheese sandwiches, and high-cal energy drinks.

Dinner: Another pound 'o pasta. A whole pizza. And more of those energy drinks.

“Having a little bit of extra weight on you," Maybin told the Post, "it helps you deal with the ground and pound of the season and all that kind of stuff. It definitely gives you a better anchor when you’re playing against the run."